176 MY MEMOIRS
an inferior rifle, the troops were told: " The chasse-pot is only superior at long range. So run in under its range, and then you will have the superiority at 500 yards."
The German navy had only to be told the truth, and they would have been able to go into battle in August, 1914, with an unconquerable feeling of superiority. Instead of this, it was considered the thing in the higher commands in the navy to criticize all short-comings in detail. This introduced a trait into the officers' corps that was dangerous in time of war; there was more doubt than faith. It goes without saying that we could have improved things here and there. But the final result should be looked at. Our Germany of 1914 was not able to do this. It acted on the lines of the motto inscribed on the shooting range at Meppen:
You can score a hundred hits, And people nod and go their way,
But ne'er a puppy that forgets If you score a miss one day.
At bottom the German nation had a great deal of luck with the construction of its belated fleet, but as it pursued it with a clear purpose in view, it completed this fleet at the right moment. But ultimate and decisive good fortune was denied it, partly owing to the tendency in Germany to find fault with things made at home and to admire everything foreign. It was also partly owing to this that the fleet was not thrownfter the Battle of Jutland. There was too much delay in drawing at the right moment the historical consequences from the possession of it.